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CASA needs volunteers, especially Hispanic and African American men. Only about a third of the children who are placed in foster care have an advocate. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least one year of service, complete 33 hours of new volunteer training and visit their children at least once a month.

Donations are needed to cover the cost of additional staff. Informational tours are held the third Thursday of each month. Those interested can RSVP to Tara Barisic, tbarisic@casa-satx.org. The agency is at 406 San Pedro Ave. Visit casa-satx.org or call 210-225-7070 for more information.

Before Jan Brown stepped in, a 10-year-old boy's foster parents were planning to start him in fifth grade, based on his age. But Brown knew he wasn't ready.

“His parents had kept him out for two years,” she said. “In fifth grade, he would have felt lost.”

As a volunteer for Child Advocates of San Antonio, or CASA, Brown knew the boy's situation because as his advocate, it was her job to know.

CASA recruits community volunteers to help children who've been placed in foster care. The advocates gather information to present to the judges overseeing the cases.

In 2011, 2,046 children were removed from their homes in Bexar County because of abuse or neglect. Child Protective Services caseworkers are responsible for 35 to 40 cases at a time, with each CASA advocate working two or three.

“Information gets lost because caseworkers have so many cases and so many children,” Brown said. “My focus is simply one case ... I just dig in, find out the details.”

According to its website, the program started in Seattle as Court Appointed Special Advocates in the late 1970s; a judge started using volunteers to speak in court for the best interests of abused and neglected children.

“They have to have the desire to want to serve these children and keep a focus on what's in the best interest of the child,” said Yolanda Valenzuela, vice president of programs and operations at CASA. “We're the constant on the case ... the only constant.”

Advocates get to know the children and communicate with doctors, therapists, teachers and caseworkers so they can “paint a picture of what that child looks like for the judge,” Valenzuela said.

Brown, who has been volunteering since 2005, said the responsibility might discourage some people, and grants coordinator Kyle Baker agreed.

“It's one of the biggest barriers we have — it sounds intimidating,” he said. But, he added, “we support people at every step. Senior volunteers are peer coordinators ... they know the best way to help you out. There is a strong connection among the advocates.”

And the initial training is comprehensive, covering such issues as how court operates and how and why a child is removed from a home, he said.

Brown remembered one of her initial concerns was getting too attached to the children.

“What came to me is that if I wanted to adopt a child, there would be so many I couldn't help,” she said. “For every case, there are 10 ... who need an advocate.”